As E&P reported earlier this week (Florida legislators put news publishers — in the state and beyond — on notice), the news publishing industry was stunned to learn that the Florida State Senate voted in favor of a bill that changed the requirement for government entities to place public notices in local newspapers. The amendment that changed the existing bill, which just went into effect a few weeks earlier, will now allow local governments and private parties to provide notice about government meetings, zoning changes, and legal proceedings to appear on obscure government websites rather than being placed ^first on the floridapublicnotices.com website run by the Florida Press Association.

There may be many reasons on why this sudden reversal took place, including that this quick change of course could actually be a vendetta that starts as high as Governor Ron DeSantis and State Senate President Wilton Simpson against the Florida newspaper industry because of critical reporting — one reporter, in particular at the Miami Herald, Mary Ellen Klas, the newspaper’s state capital bureau chief, whom Simpson accused of “collusion” with Democrats over a contentious redistricting debate happening among the legislators.

Regardless of the reason, most critics agree that legislation like this reduces government transparency and reduces an important revenue stream that supports local journalism.

In this 129t^h episode of "E&P Reports," Editor & Publisher hosts a panel of news publishing leaders on how this reversal may have been avoided and what the future may hold as states might be compelled to mimic Florida's actions. Speaking on this topic are Dean Ridings, CEO of America's Newspapers; Jim Fogler, President & CEO; Florida Press Assoc., Brad Thompson, CEO Detroit Legal News; Don Craven, President & CEO, Illinois Press Assoc.; Samuel Morley, General Counsel, Florida Press Assoc. and Bill Barker, Founder & CEO, Barker Strategic Solutions and past Regional President for Gannett Florida.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of E&P’s coverage on public notice legislation across the country.